


Happily Ever After

by JustAnotherMarvelGirl



Series: Our Love Is Stronger Than the Universe [23]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bends the laws of physics, F/M, First Time, Sex Ed wasn't really available in this universe lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:14:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26058538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherMarvelGirl/pseuds/JustAnotherMarvelGirl
Summary: “You are to be married to prince Simon,” her father stated with a triumphant grin and Wanda felt her legs give out under her.She didn’t want this.She didn’t want the prince.There was only one man she wanted, but he was a man she knew her father would never approve of.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Series: Our Love Is Stronger Than the Universe [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1880671
Comments: 7
Kudos: 40
Collections: AUgust 2020, Scarlet Vision AU-gust





	Happily Ever After

**Author's Note:**

> Written for AU-gust day 23: Arranged Marriage AU
> 
> A part of this was inspired by the folk tale of how the beach pictured below was created, so it bends the laws of physics a bit :)

“You wished to see me, father?” Wanda asked as she entered her father’s reception room.

Duke Magneto was a busy man and Wanda rarely saw him if she wasn’t summoned.

“Yes, my dear,” he said, something about his smile causing a deep unease to settle in her stomach. “I have excellent news.”

Wanda waited as patiently as she could for his next words but felt her heart sink into her heels as she did.

She somehow doubted the news would be excellent for _her_.

What her father uttered next confirmed her suspicions.

“You are to be married to prince Simon,” he stated with a triumphant grin and Wanda felt her legs give out under her.

His hand gripped her arm roughly to keep her from falling and his eyes were dangerous despite his smile as he continued.

“I have already written to the king and told him how _honored_ we are that you have caught the prince’s attention. You are to be wed in a fortnight, is that understood?”

The threat in his voice was absolutely clear. She had no choice in this matter. She had been lucky so far, managing to reject her father’s matches for this reason or that, but nothing she said or did could stop him from marrying her into the royal family.

“Yes, father,” she said, voice and eyes devoid of all emotions. “May I be excused?”

“Of course. Use the time well. You are to be perfect for the prince.”

Wanda curtseyed and left him to his duties, willing her legs to find the strength to carry her until she was once again in the safety of her own room.

She closed the door behind her and immediately collapsed against the wall, sliding down until she was sitting on the cold floor, face hidden in her hands.

She couldn’t breathe, the corset was suffocating her, and her fingers frantically battled with the ties behind her back until she gave up and tore them with a scream.

If Pietro were still alive, what would he tell her? Would he tell her she was overreacting, that she should be happy she was chosen by a prince? Or would he understand what she was going through?

She supposed it didn’t matter, in the end. He was gone, forever, and no amount of wishing or wondering would bring him back.

Wanda felt a sob escape her lips, and then another, cries tearing themselves from her chest without her control.

She didn’t want this.

She didn’t want the prince.

There was only one man she wanted, but he was a man she knew her father would never approve of.

It had never stopped her before. She had been sneaking out to the beach to talk to Vision, the poor fisherman’s son, almost every night for years, but she would now lose him forever. She would be whisked away to a far-off castle, to be paraded around like a doll in a glass case, to be used by the stranger she’d be forced to call her husband whenever it pleased him.

Wanda wanted to scream, rip her pillows apart and kick things, but she bit her fist instead. She had done enough damage by tearing at her dress, she didn’t want to draw any more of her father’s attention than necessary.

A soft knock on the door finally made her breathing slow. She knew it was her maid, the only person she trusted in this world, so she managed a small: “enter,” and waited as the wooden door next to her opened to let her in.

“Oh, Hope,” Wanda sighed shakily and wished that the word still held meaning for her. But there was no hope. Not anymore.

Wanda knew Hope had been notified of the arrangement by the sad look in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything, just helped her get out of the ruined dress and led her towards the bath.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Hope whispered as she helped her wash her hair and Wanda felt more tears leave her.

“I need to go see him,” Wanda replied once the warm water finally managed to calm her down.

Hope nodded but warned her to be careful.

“I think your father is starting to suspect something. He’ll be keeping a close watch on you until the wedding.”

“I know, but I have to try. Vision at least deserves to know why I’m-”

Wanda suddenly snapped her mouth shut. She couldn’t even force herself to say it.

Once night finally came, she donned Hope’s maid outfit and left the other girl in her nightgown, sleeping in her bed. It was a well-trained routine. Hope always slept with her face hidden in the pillows, a nightcap disguising her different-colored hair in case someone checked up on her in the middle of the night, while Wanda hid hers with Hope’s white bonnet.

She snuck out through the servants’ exit and followed the path to the beach that she knew by heart. She didn’t need a torch on the way, couldn’t risk it, and she smiled wistfully as she remembered the first time she had braved that path, all the scratches and bruises Hope had had to cover up once she was back.

Wanda looked around her when she got to the sandy beach but there was no-one, no signs of life, and she sighed in relief. She hadn’t been followed.

She chose a spot hidden from sight and lit her small torch, notifying Vision of her position. She waited, and waited, staring at the dark sea in front of her until she finally heard the sound of oars once he was close enough.

“Oh, Vizh,” she sighed, launching herself in his embrace the moment he was on shore.

“Wanda,” he replied, looking down at her in surprise at the abruptness of her action. The moonlight was reflecting so beautifully in his eyes and Wanda felt her own fill with tears. “Is everything alright?”

“No… No, it isn’t. Nothing is alright, Vizh. I… I’m to be married off,” she admitted, voice shaky, and felt his arms tighten around hers.

“To whom?” he asked, pain written clearly on his face, and Wanda felt her heart break all over again.

“Prince Simon,” she spat out, the name making bile rise in her throat.

Vision averted his gaze at her words, but there was no mistaking the tear that slid down his cheek.

“Kiss me, Vision,” she whispered, watching as his blue eyes widened. “If I’m to live my whole life trapped in a cage, I want to know what it feels like to be loved.”

“B-but… the prince… What will he do if he finds out he’s not your first?” Vision stammered, but Wanda shook her head.

“He can kill me for all I care,” she countered, pulling him towards her for a kiss.

The kiss started slowly, gently, but it soon turned heated with passion and desperation. Wanda had never kissed anyone before, she knew Vision hadn’t either, but if that’s what kissing was like, she wondered how anyone ever got anything done.

“More, Vision, please, more,” she moaned against his lips, and their tongues suddenly slipped together in a dance not unlike the one of waves she could hear behind them.

She had begged Hope to tell her all she knew about making love, back when she had still believed that love was something fate had in store for her, and her fingers now shakily tried to get him out of his clothes.

Vision complied, helping her rid him of his garments, and Wanda could do nothing but stand and drink his nude form in. He was bathed in moonlight, his blonde hair shining silver, and Wanda knew it was the most beautiful sight she would ever get to see.

She couldn’t look at him anymore, it was too painful to think about all that she would lose in less than a fortnight, so she averted her gaze, busying her hands with removing her own clothing.

“Wanda,” he said quietly, laying a hand over hers, and she forced her eyes to meet his again. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Her first thought was that he didn’t want her, that this was all her and her desperate yearning for his love, but she could clearly see the evidence of his desire.

 _It will seem like a firm rod if he’s ready_ , Hope had said, _but sometimes you will have to help him get there with your hands or mouth_.

Vision definitely seemed ready, but Wanda was suddenly uncertain.

“Do _you_?” she asked instead, grateful her voice didn’t break.

“Of course I do, but Wanda, I am a nobody. A fisherman doing his best to survive from day to day. Are you sure you want to give this gift to me?”, he asked, biting his lip. He didn’t have to say the next part for Wanda to know he thought it. _And not to a prince_ …

“I want no one but you,” she assured, and then his hands and lips were on her again. She shivered once she was finally as naked as he was, but not from the cool night air.

Vision laid his clothes on the sand and Wanda lowered herself on them, waiting for him to cover her with his body.

“You are so beautiful,” he marveled, planting a kiss on her lips.

His lips then wandered lower, and lower, and, what was he doing? This was nothing like Hope had described. He was supposed to enter her and then move on top her but – _oh_.

 _Oh_!

He did enter her, only it was with his tongue and Wanda had never felt anything like it.

She bit her hand to stop her moans and tangled the other in his hair.

It was good, so good, and she never wanted it to stop, but then he did something with his tongue and she saw the stars that had nothing to do with the ones peppered above them.

“Oh god, Vizh, what was that?” Wanda asked once she could finally see him without her vision swimming.

He smiled sheepishly between her legs before replying.

“Well, I heard that this would make it less painful for a woman and I… I wanted to kiss you there,” he admitted.

“Come here,” she whispered, pulling lightly on his hair, and then they were kissing again, her taste on his tongue driving her mad.

“Please, Vizh,” she begged. He must have known what she meant, because she soon felt him prodding at her entrance.

“I love you, Wanda,” he confessed, before entering her as gently as he could.

His admission made her heart soar, distracting her so much that she barely even winced at the slight pain from the intrusion.

He paused for a few moments, breathing heavily, and then they were moving as one in an erotic dance that followed the beat of the waves around them.

Wanda’s hands couldn’t hold still, running across his back and his neck, trying to pull him closer despite knowing there was absolutely no space between them.

His own hands were doing the same, leaving a blazing trail of fire wherever they went. They were calloused, so different from the soft hands of the nobles whose advances she had managed to squash, but each touch made her body sing.

“Oh, Vizh, _Vizh_ , I love you,” she moaned, and then he once again made her see stars.

Getting dressed and leaving was the most difficult thing she had ever done. Each step she made felt like another stomp on the heart she had torn out of her chest and left with the poor fisherman’s boy.

She looked over her shoulder, despite her better judgement, and her eyes locked with his. Even from a distance, she could see they were filled with tears, and she suddenly knew. She couldn’t marry the prince, family and duty be damned.

She turned around and ran towards him, wrapping him into her arms, and started kissing the tears from his face.

“I can’t leave you, Vizh, I can’t! Let’s run away together, start a new life, somewhere where no one will recognize us,” she pleaded.

“Wanda, there is nothing I would want more, but we can’t. I can’t offer you a life of comfort, I won’t be able to shower you with gifts, and clothes, and jewels, I…”

Wanda put her fingers over his lips, stopping his words, before she shook her head.

“I want none of that. I don’t want a life of comfort, I want a life of happiness, and love, and no one can give that to me but you.”

She saw his resolve was breaking and sealed her offer with a kiss, feeling him melt against her.

“When would we leave?” he asked, his eyes finally shining with hope and not sadness.

“Right now. I don’t need anything from there. It is all my father’s, nothing is mine anyway.”

Wanda thought it was a great idea, but Vision bit his lip in worry.

“What about Hope?” he asked softly, and Wanda’s heart sank.

If she didn’t go back, Hope would be punished, perhaps even killed, for her role in helping her. Wanda couldn’t let that happen.

“Tomorrow then. Meet me here tomorrow and we will leave this place forever.”

Wanda smiled after Vision’s nod and couldn’t resist stealing another kiss before rushing back to the castle.

The next night she packed only the bare essentials, things that couldn’t be traced back to her lineage, and bid her farewell to a tearful Hope.

“Go to your room and stay there. In the morning, come to my room and then run to my father. Tell him you couldn’t find me, cry if you can, I just want you safe,” Wanda pleaded, and her maid nodded.

“This boy, I hope he’s worth it,” she whispered, hugging her goodbye, and Wanda smiled, closing her eyes.

“He is,” Wanda assured, turning around and disappearing into the night.

When she reached the beach, her heart stopped.

There was a light there, a torch mimicking the one she would usually light, and she could hear her father’s soldiers talking.

No…

NO!

It was a trap, a trap for Vision, and she felt panic gripping every fiber of her being.

She had to warn him. If he got to the shore he would die, and it would be _her_ fault!

Wanda couldn’t see him yet, but she knew he was probably rowing towards the light, and she had to think of a way to get to him without drowning or revealing her presence.

She quickly emptied the contents of her pouch and filled it with sand, doing the same with all the various layers of her dress. She knew that the area was relatively shallow, she just hoped her plan would work.

Wanda stepped into the water, gradually releasing the sand from its confines to create a path in front of her. She was slowly running out of sand but she could see him now, he was close, so close, and his eyes widened once he noticed her.

“Wanda,” he gasped, but it was too loud, drawing the soldiers’ attention.

“A witch!” she heard them yell, and only then did she realize that, from afar, it seemed like she was walking on water. 

There were suddenly arrows flying around her and Wanda cried out as one grazed her arm, her blood painting the sea and the sand around her red, but then Vision was pulling her inside his boat, rowing as fast as he could to get them away from the soldiers.

He didn’t take them to his home, not knowing if the soldiers were waiting there too, but instead rowed until they reached a hidden cave on a nearby island. Wanda winced at the pain in her arm and Vision tore at his clothing and tied it as a bandage around her wound.

“Thank you,” she whispered, but he just smiled and planted a kiss to her shoulder.

“I wish we could stay here and rest, but I believe the night would be better spent on the way.”

“Where are we going,” she inquired, eyes already falling closed. She was pretty sure she would be able to sleep even once he started rowing again. The events of the day had exhausted her.

“I don’t know yet, my love, I just know it will be as far away from here as possible.”

And so they left.

They spent the nights travelling and the days fishing for food and searching for water, never staying in one place until they finally reached another kingdom, with another ruler.

They built a small house on the beach and were for the most part unbothered.

Wanda smiled as she looked at the man she could now call her own.

“You know, I went to the village today,” she started, a grin on her face, “and there were some merchants that had passed through our old town.”

“Did they recognize you?” he asked, frowning despite the tone of her voice.

“No, they had never been there before,” she assured him, “but they had an interesting story to tell about two star-crossed lovers.”

“Oh?” Vision asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Yes. The story goes that a beautiful maiden fell in love with a handsome fisherman. Each evening they met, and each morning he left her to try and provide for their living, but one dawn she couldn’t stay away from him anymore. You see, she couldn’t swim, so she gathered sand into her skirts and created a path through the sea by releasing it. She almost reached him, but she ran out of sand and drowned. When the fisherman realized what had happened, he let the sea take him too, for he couldn’t bear to be parted from his beloved, and that’s how what they called ‘The Maiden’s Sand’ came into existence.”

“Hmm,” Vision hummed as she reached the end of the story, “that is a captivating tale, but the ending is all wrong. I know what really happened.”

“Do you, now?” Wanda smirked.

“I do. They lived happily ever after,” he whispered, pulling her into his embrace.


End file.
